Braves down impressive Strasburg
The Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 5-0 on Monday at Turner Field, and they even managed to score a few runs on rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg. But even though Strasburg picked up his second straight loss, falling to 2-2, he once again looked solid, pitching six and a third innings and allowing three earned runs against the leaders of the NL East.
The Braves managed to light Strasburg up for four runs in the seventh, although Strasburg was not helped by an error on a potential double-play ball. Meanwhile the Braves' starter Tim Hudson out-pitched the rookie, throwing seven innings without letting in a run.
Hudson though had nothing but praise for the vanquished rookie who is drawing so much attention, to the point even U.S President Barack Obama travelled to see Strasburg pitch.
"He's living up to the hype; there's no question about that," said Hudson. "It's not like he's catching a lot of teams by surprise. Guys know what he's featuring. They can't help but know what he's featuring, because it's on ESPN every time he pitches, for the whole night. But he's special."
The Braves' four-run seventh began when Strasburg walked Chipper Jones, then conceded a single to Brian McCann. After Ian Desmond couldn't handle a double-play grounder, the bases were loaded and Strasbourg let in two runs before being pulled from the game. Two more of his batters came home afterwards, and it was all the Braves needed
Despite the Braves winning though, as with every game he plays, the story of the match was Strasburg.
All eyes on Strasburg
Even though he plays for the lowly Nationals, Stephen Strasburg has become the talk of this year's MLB with his incredible performances thus far this season.
Strasburg, 21, made his Major League Baseball debut on June 8th under massive pressure. To call him the "most hyped and closely watched pitching prospect in the history of baseball" wouldn't be an exaggeration, and in fact, those are the exact words Sports Illustrated used to describe the 21-year-old San Diego local a right-hander. He signed a contract for $15.1 million dollars, and it hardly seemed possible that he would live up to the hype.
But thus far, he has. In his début he pitched seven innings and let in two runs, but more incredibly, struck out fourteen batters, setting a team strikeout record and didn't walk a single batter. He's been solid ever since, striking out record numbers of batters for a rookie. In his first three starts he struck out 32 batters, easily beating the old record of 29. Over five games he has just a 2.27 ERA, and his 2-2 record is more a reflection of the fact the Nationals have been unable to score, giving Strasburg just one run in his past three starts.
Nationals as a future contender?
Strasburg can't do it alone, to be certain, but his presence in the bullpen of the Nationals is boding well for a potential future as a contender. Their management was very vocal after signing him that they were doing this to become a contender. Strasburg is not alone as the Nationals boast a bullpen full of young talent that they hope will turn them around quickly.
They will have Strasburg for four years after they just barely met the deadline to sign him in June. But Strasburg says for now he's just taking things one game at a time.
"I can't really place too high expectations on myself when I go out there," Strasburg said after Monday's loss to the Braves. "I understand I'm not going to have lights-out stuff every time out. I'm human. I was really focusing on trying to go out there and overcome all the obstacles."
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